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Grand slam
In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all the bases occupied, thereby scoring 4 runs - the most possible on a single play. Lou Gehrig hit 23 career grand slams, the most by any player in Major League Baseball. Don Mattingly set the single-season record with 6 grand slams in 1987 - remarkably, the only 6 of his entire 14-year career; Travis Hafner tied the single-season record in 2006. Roger Connor is believed to have been the first major league player to hit a grand slam, on September 10, 1881 for the Troy Trojans, although Charlie Gould hit one for the Boston Red Stockings in the National Association on September 5, 1871 (the National Association is not recognized by Major League Baseball as a major league). On several occasions in major league history, the first being Connor's 1881 home run, a player has hit a walk-off grand slam for a 1-run victory; some baseball observers call this an "ultimate grand slam" http://www.wcnet.org/~dlfleitz/gs.htm http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/baseball/news/2002/05/17/ultimate_grand_slams/. In the 2005 major league season, grand slams accounted for 132 of the 5017 total home runs hit (2.6 %). On June 13 and 14, 2006, the Minnesota Twins recorded the rare feat of two grand slams in consecutive games against the Boston Red Sox, including a walk off grand slam by Jason Kubel in the 12th inning on the 13th. Also in 2006, the Chicago White Sox hit grand slams in three consecutive games against the Houston Astros on June 23, June 24, and June 25. Two of the three grand slams were hit by second baseman Tadahito Iguchi. They became the first team to accomplish this feat since the Detroit Tigers did it in 1993. In 2007, the Kansas City Royals surrendered grand slams in three straight games, two against the Baltimore Orioles and one against the Detroit Tigers, from April 13 to April 16, 2007. In the 2006 major league season, Travis Hafner of the Cleveland Indians set a major league record by hitting five grand slams prior to the All-Star Break. Weeks later on July 16, Carlos Beltran and Cliff Floyd of the New York Mets hit grand slams during an 11-run 6th inning in a game against the Chicago Cubs, the 7th time two grand slams have been hit in a single inning (the 4th time in National League history). Hafner's sixth grand slam on August 13 tied Mattingly's record for most in a season. In Japan's professional league, the feat of multiple grand slams in a single inning by a team has been accomplished three times; most recently on April 1, 2007 by José Fernández and Takeshi Yamasaki of the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles. The Daiei Hawks accomplished the feat in 1999. On April 23, 1999, Fernando Tatis of the St. Louis Cardinals hit 2 grand slams in the same inning, both against Chan Ho Park, in the only such occurrence in major league history. Tatis had never hit a grand slam in his career before. Three players have hit grand slams at their first at-bat: Kevin Kouzmanoff (2006), Jeremy Hermida (2005), and Bill Duggleby (1898). Kouzmanoff was the first and only to hit a grand slam off of the first pitch. A nickname for the grand slam popularized by the sports media is the "grand salami". World Series Follow the linked year on the far left for detailed information on that series. Other major league postseason grand slams All-Star Game Career grand slam leaders Players in Bold are currently active (as of 2009). *Lou Gehrig - 23 *'Manny Ramírez' - 21 *Eddie Murray - 19 *Willie McCovey - 18 *Robin Ventura - 18 *Jimmie Foxx - 17 *Ted Williams - 17 *Hank Aaron - 16 *Dave Kingman - 16 *Babe Ruth - 16 See also *Major league players who have hit two grand slams in one game References *Ryczek, William J. (1992). Blackguards and Red Stockings; A History of Baseball's National Association 1871-1875. Wallingford, CT: Colebrook Press. ISBN 0-9673718-0-5 *Orem, Preston D. (1961). Baseball (1845-1881) From the Newspaper Accounts. Altadena, CA: Self-published. Category:Baseball terminology Category:Baseball records